Pollen or parasite?

Our new girl Scarlett is doing well...sort of. She's growing like a weed, eating well, pooping every day, active (yet skittish), however, she also has runny stinky poos. I did a few fecal floats about two weeks after we got her (she was hatched on 11/1/12). She had a fair amount of cocciddia. We treated her with Toltrazuril, and it cleared her right up. We've done 3 fecal tests in the last 4 weeks and I have not found a single coccidia oocyst since. I haven't found any other common parasites either...pinworms, etc. BUT, she still has runny poop!

I cranked up the magnification to 500x to see what can I find, and I've found a few (3-4 on a whole slide) round little guys. At first I thought these could be roundworm. However, maybe this is pollen?

A pic from our microscope at 500x.


Here is what some common flower pollen looks like at 500x.



Here is a roundworm egg at 400x.


Any opinions?

Scarlett is pretty skittish still, and I'm thinking that she isn't basking enough because she's usually hiding, or trying to hide....not basking enough. Maybe the runny poos is caused by not digesting enough.

Thanks for your input.

Hello,

The pictures do look a lot like pollen!
The stools are possibly due to her not spending enough time basking. What are the temperatures in the tank?
If her fecals keep coming up clear the problem is most likely a husbandry or nutritional issue.
Scarlett is a sweet name. Do you have any pictures of her?

What type of lighting are you using?

Tracie

108-110 basking surface....about 80 on the cool side. I lowered the wattage on the bulb today to see if she would bask more. Temp is about 102-104 now. We'll see how she does tomorrow.

Reptisun 10.0 tube. Timer is set for 13.5 hrs of light.

Our other beardie, Draper (adult), is on the exact same setup. They are on dubia, phoenix worms and small supers. Both get greens daily, collard, arugula mix.

They both get acidophiliz 2-3 times per week.

We've had her for 2 months. She's gone from 63g to 111g, and is now 13.5in.

viewtopic.php?f=49&t=170122

Skip to the last few pages for pics of her.

Hello,

She is adorable & has really grown, too.
Do they like the acidophiliz? Is Scarlett eating a lot also?
It sounds like Draper is doing well, eating all of his bugs, too. I hope they are doing good!


Tracie

Drache613":g9noak0t said:

Hello,

She is adorable & has really grown, too.
Do they like the acidophiliz? Is Scarlett eating a lot also?
It sounds like Draper is doing well, eating all of his bugs, too. I hope they are doing good!


Tracie

Click to expand...

They both love the acidophiliz! I think they actually crave it.

Scarlett is an eating machine lately. She goes through alot of dubia in a day! She also eats greens more often than Draper does. I think this is probably because she came from a good breeder and Draper came from a pet store.

We moved her basking spot, basically taking all her cage furniture and flipping it to the other side. Apparently she likes spending more time on the south side of the viv, because now she basks for most of the day.

Draper is doing fantastic, I don't think he's ever been more active or healthier. He's been a great pet, very interactive and plays well with the cats. He's seen Scarlett a couple times and I really think it triggered his natural instinct of competition/mating. He's a really happy dragon. We weighed him yesterday and he's up to 430g!

Thanks for the reply,

David

Hello David,

It sounds like they are both doing great!
A lot of them love the taste of the acidophiliz so at least it is good for them. Is Scarlett still eating a lot of dubia & greens? That is great she is basking a lot even after you changed her tank around, too. Is Draper eating a good amount, also?

Some of it can be attributed to genetics sure, but all of them are different. I am sure that he will eventually come around so just keep working at it & he will improve for you. I am glad you are enjoying him & that he is so social with you.
I am happy for you & your dragons, it sounds like everything is going wonderfully!

Tracie

Hi,

Both are still growing and eating tons. Draper tipped the scales at 450g, and Scarlett hit 135 today. Draper has really started eating more greens, usually first thing in the morning. Scarlett has always been a good eater, even when I thought she might be sick, her appetite was great.

Scarlett has been doing well for the past week or so. Her poops have returned to normal, but now she's hissing/gaping when she poops. Is that something to be concerned about? Her urates don't seem hard or too large or discolored.